Long Ago and Far Away
by Veleda
Summary: Even they were young once. Even they had dreams. KasaneNagare, preseries. Spoilers for the Kamakura arc.


Kasane found him in the sakura grove. He didn't notice her until she came up beside him and slipped her hand in his. "They're not quite as picturesque in the summer, are they?" she asked softly.

Her turned to look at her, surprised. "Kasane."

"Nagare." She smiled warmly.

"How did you know that I was here?"

"Mika-san told me."

Nagare sighed. "She talks too much."

"She worries about you." Kasane sat down in the grass, pulling Nagare down with her. "Now, whatever is bothering you, you're going to tell me all about it.

A bit of humor crept into Nagare's eyes. "Oh, am I?"

"Of course," Kasane said confidently. She poked him lightly. "So, get started."

"It's... ridiculous."

"Why don't you let me decide that?"

Nagre looked away. "I'm much better at kendo than my brother is." The words came out in a rush.

"Yes," Kasane agreed, her expression clearly saying "I hope that there's more to it than that."

"Father always finds something to compliment him on, when we practice. If Father criticizes him, it's only to help him improve. He all but ignores me." Nagare shook his head. "I can't believe that that still bothers me."

Kasane laid her head in Nagare's lap. "Iwao-san has always been your father's favorite. But," she added when she saw him flinch, "you're still twice the man he is. Don't let your fool of a father make you think otherwise."

Nagare stiffened. "Don't talk about my father that way. He's a proud and honorable man."

Kasane sighed. "I'm sorry." She smiled up at Nagare impishly. "But, does it really matter what he thinks of you? After all, in a few years, we won't even be here."

Catching her good humor, Nagare smiled slightly. "That's right. We're going to be rich and famous in the big city."

Kasane nodded. "Exactly. Are you still thinking about Kyoto? I know that it's lovely, but it's so traditional. I thought that we were trying to get away from all of this accursed tradition."

Nagare chuckled and began to run his fingers through Kasane's hair. "It doesn't have to be Kyoto. Where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking of somewhere in Tokyo. We would never be bored there."

Nagare frowned pensively. "Tokyo is awfully expensive though."

"That doesn't matter," Kasane teased. "We're going to be rich and famous, remember?"

"Of course," replied Nagare, matching her tone, "but I thought that that might take a few months, so we should know what we'll be doing in the meantime."

"What about Yokohama?" Kasane suggested. "It's not as far away as I'd like, but it certainly is big. We could have fun there. There's an extensive Chinatown to explore, and, of course, there's the world's largest clock to admire." She laughed. "Of course, this is only until we become fabulously wealthy stars."

Nagare smiled fondly. "And what are we going to do once we are rich and famous?"

Kasane grinned at the familiar question. "We'll live in a huge high rise apartment on the very top floor. We'll eat at fancy restaurants every night and take a dozen exotic vacation every year. And, most importantly, we'll own so many designer clothes that we'll never have to wear kimono again."

Nagare laughed. "But, you look so sexy in kimono."

Kasane's grin turned playful. "Well then, maybe I'll wear a kimono every once in a while, just for you."

"I'm not sure that you'll find the time. Between the fancy restaurants, the exotic vacations, and being fabulously famous and successful, how will have time to do anything else?"

"We have our entire lives ahead of us, love. We'll be able to fit everything in. We'll find time to go to amusement parks, go to theaters to watch horribly violent movies..."

"And a porn movie," Nagare interjected.

"A _porn _movie?" Kasane's eyes narrowed in a threatening gesture that was only half joking.

"I just want to be able to do everything that I can't do here," Nagare hurriedly explained.

Kasane laughed indulgently. "All right, one dirty movie. But, I'll have to come with you. You're not going to get a chance to stray. "

Nagare caressed her cheek affectionately. "Does that mean that you'll stay with me forever?"

"Yes. Yes, it does."

"Then it sounds wonderful."

Kasane sat up and leaned against Nagare. "Oh, Nagare, how am I going to survive until then?"

Nagare placed a comforting hand on her leg. "You have me. We'll make it together." He paused. "It will happen, won't it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Kasane answered with absolute conviction, as if the words alone could make it true. She embraced him. "And we'll love each other forever, right?"

"Of course."

The world was a hard, harsh place, but at the moment, Nagare didn't care. As long as they had each other, everything would be all right.

He just knew it.


End file.
